Support local dairies, look for new Tennessee Milk logo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Consumers now have a way to know that their milk comes from Tennessee dairy farms, with the new official Tennessee Milk logo.

Milk labeled as Tennessee Milk must be entirely sourced, processed and bottled in the state. The program is administered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA).

The 110th General Assembly passed legislation enacting the Tennessee Milk logo. Sen. Frank Nicely and Rep. David Hawk sponsored the bill. TDA will continue working with processors to increase Tennessee Milk participation, giving consumers a broader opportunity to support local farmers.

FedEx pledges challenge grant in support of youth education

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has received a $1 million challenge grant from FedEx Corp. toward the establishment of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Education Center at Lone Oaks Farm.

The site is designed to provide youth education and 4-H activities in West Tennessee, but many programs will be available to youth from throughout the mid-South. The gift from FedEx is contingent on Lone Oaks Farm meeting its fundraising goal by raising other support from businesses, foundations and individuals.

The proposed Center will be a central hub for all youth groups visiting the farm for day and overnight experiences, and will consist of an instructional facility, demonstration farm and overnight lodging for 64 students. During their visit, students will learn about cutting-edge technology like GIS, drones and genetic technology, while at the same time providing outdoor experiences like stargazing and nature walks.

The University of Tennessee secured the 1,200 acres of farm property, located in Hardeman County, in 2015 with the intent of building a premier youth and adult education center, and a host site for the Tennessee 4-H program. Lone Oaks Farm has since then hosted more than 2,500 students from 15 counties in West Tennessee, providing a superior environment for STEM education.

If the challenge is achieved, the FedEx gift, along with the additional matching contributions, will allow Lone Oaks Farm to serve an estimated 30,000 students a year.

Those interested in participating in the matching gift should contact Michele Sides with the UT Institute of Agriculture at 731-435-9665. For more information about Lone Oaks Farm, visit www.loneoaksfarm.com

AGCO launches AGCO Agriculture Foundation

DULUTH, Ga. — AGCO announced the launch of the AGCO Agriculture Foundation. The new philanthropic focus demonstrates AGCO’s strong commitment to specific sustainable development goals developed by the United Nations that seek to end hunger and provide basic necessities to a growing world population.

AGCO has already been driving change globally, particularly in certain developing markets, by supporting farmer education initiatives as well as access to mechanization and agricultural projects. As a private organization, the Agriculture Foundation will leverage new partnerships and use its networks to develop and advance vital initiatives that will have a positive direct social, economic and environmental impact on communities around the globe.

A board of directors is entrusted with the oversight and administration of the Foundation’s activities.

DCC Waterbeds joins Feeding America to donate milk to children

MADISON, Wis. — Each year, more than 46 million Americans – including 12 million children – are served by Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. According to Feeding America, milk is one of the most requested, but least donated, items at food banks.

Advanced Comfort Technology (DCC Waterbeds) is launching its promotion, Give the Gift of Dairy, joining to support The Great American Milk Drive. From Oct. 1-Dec. 31, for each DCC Waterbed sold in North America, Advanced Comfort Technology, working alongside Feeding America, will donate a gallon of nutrient-rich wholesome milk to charitable food organizations.

“We are dedicated to promoting the dairy industry, and the women and men that produce our many dairy products,” said Amy Throndsen, the company’s chief operating officer. “When you pick up a gallon of milk at your local store, remember the hard-working dairy families that provided it to you, and consider giving the gift of dairy to a local family in need, too.”

If you want to individually give to this cause, you can make a donation at https://milklife.com/give

Alltech launches contest for chance to win conference trip

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A picture is worth a thousand words – to tell a story, share a moment or bring back a memory. Alltech wants to help share agricultural life photos, stories and moments with the urban population, and celebrate those whose daily dedication feeds a growing world.

With the launch of the #iamAG online agvocacy photo contest, Alltech invites farmers, ranchers, producers and all agricultural workers to submit and share photos of their farms and ag lifestyle for the opportunity to win a trip to ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE19) in Lexington on May 19-21, 2019.

Photos must be submitted online by Nov. 30 at 9 a.m. EST. They will be judged by a panel, who will select the top photos as finalists, and those photos will be published on Alltech’s Facebook page.

Voting will open to the public on Dec. 3 at 3 p.m. and will close on Dec. 17 at 12 p.m. Use the hashtag #iamAG to find the photos or visit the Facebook album to vote. Winners and their guest will receive free registration to ONE19 (valued at $995) and $2,000 for travel expenses.

To enter a photo and read the full contest details, including the rules and regulations, visit https://go.alltech.com/i-am-ag

Syngenta will establish seeds hub in western Chicago

CHICAGO, Ill. — Syngenta announced it will establish a major Global and North America Seeds office in the western suburbs of Chicago. AgriBusiness Global reported approximately 50 Syngenta Seeds business managers and employees will relocate from other U.S. locations beginning in the first half of 2019. The new site can accommodate expansion for planned growth.

The company, owned by ChemChina, said two reasons for opening the Chicago office is it is geographically closer to U.S. customers in corn and soy growing regions and readily connects Syngenta to other key seeds markets globally through an excellent transportation hub.

Syngenta leaders in seeds marketing, sales and administrative functions will work together in the new Chicago office to continue growing the global and North America business. Syngenta currently operates four facilities in Illinois, with more than 150 full-time employees and a $16 million payroll.

Asmark, AGCO develop course for experienced applicators

DULUTH, Ga. – AGCO Corp. and the Asmark Institute have created a new Applicator Training Course specifically for crop protection and crop nutrient applicators with more than three years of experience.

The two-day program was developed at the request of agricultural retailers and will help experienced applicators stay current with critical issues in an ever-changing industry. The classroom course will be conducted at the Applicator Training Center in Bloomington, Ill., which opened in June 2017 through collaboration between the two organizations.

The Experienced Applicator Training Course is open to anyone involved with crop production, from producers to professional applicators. Each class is limited to 21 attendees, on a first-come basis. For more information or to register online, go to www.asmark.org/TrainingCourses/applicator-training-experienced

Registration is open for classes in January, February and March 2019.

Projects to improve Tennessee waters eligible for funds

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) is accepting grant proposals for projects that will help improve water quality and reduce or eliminate nonpoint source pollution.

Nonpoint source pollution is soil, urban runoff, fertilizers, chemicals and other contaminants that degrade surface and groundwater quality. The Nonpoint Source Program was created in 1987 as part of the Clean Water Act and provides funding to states to stop nonpoint source pollution.

Local governments, regional and state agencies, public institutions and private nonprofits are eligible to apply for those federal dollars administered by TDA’s Land and Water Stewardship Section. Highest priority is given to projects that seek to make measurable improvements to waters impaired by nonpoint source pollution.

The deadline for submitting grant proposals is Dec. 1. A list of impaired waters and the FY 2019 Request for Proposals can be found at www.tn.gov/agriculture/farms/conservation/nonpoint-source-program_rd.html

For more information, contact Sam Marshall at 615-837-5306 or sam.marshall@tn.gov

Tate & Lyle opens new warehouse and distribution center

LOUDON, Tenn. — DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products Co., LLC, a manufacturer of natural and renewably sourced ingredients, opened a new warehouse and distribution center at its manufacturing site in Loudon.

The new facility will create a streamlined approach to servicing global customers who require various packaging sizes and bolster service around the world to consumers looking for biobased solutions. The warehouse and distribution center increases Tate & Lyle’s ability in delivering high-quality products, ensuring customers focused on plant-based ingredients will continue to have access to products when and where they need it.

The warehouse is designed for anticipated future capacity expansions and will support the current capacity of 135 million pounds, as well as the additional 35 million pounds of biobased 1,3 propanediol coming online in mid-2019.

Previously only bulk shipments were fulfilled from the manufacturing facility, with packaged goods being handled off-site by a third-party provider. The new warehouse and distribution center allows for packaged goods such as pails, drums and totes to be directly filled, stored and shipped from the manufacturing facility to any destination around the world and simplifies the global supply chain.

Rain and Hail sign multiyear agreement with Bushel

JOHNSTON, Iowa — Rain and Hail, a division of Chubb's agriculture business, the leading crop insurance franchise in the United States, signed a multiyear agreement with Bushel.

This is the grain industry's first software platform that allows grain elevators, cooperatives and ethanol plants to connect with their growers digitally, providing them with an efficient way to automate the sharing of scale tickets from participating elevators, grain buyers and ethanol facilities with their crop insurance agent.

The Multiple Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) program, which is insurance coverage designed to help protect growers from a variety of potential losses, requires growers to report the quantity of crops they harvest to their crop insurance agent each year, which can be a time-consuming process. Bushel provides growers and agents a quick and efficient way to report critical production information that can help save them time during their busy harvest seasons.

The automated sharing service will be available through a pilot program to growers in the North Central United States in 2018 and will be expanded to the entire country in 2019.

Beck’s launches Return on Investment Calculator tool

ATLANTA, Ind. — Beck’s is pleased to announce the release of the Return on Investment (ROI) Calculator tool in FARMserver, its precision farming software. This newly launched tool will allow users to view average profit or loss per acre on their operation based on Purdue University’s Crop Cost and Return Guide.

FARMserver subscribers can now view return on investment numbers as a percent of their overall operation costs or as a cost per bushel analysis. While market prices for both corn and soybeans are automatically updated every 15 minutes to match the Chicago Board of Trade Prices, users can also update any of the calculator values with their own input costs or market prices.

Though not required to use the tool, users who choose to upload their yield data can also evaluate their harvest data in terms of ROI. Not only does the ROI Calculator display average yields and values for the entire operation, users can dive deeper into their data and edit input costs and average yield at the field level.

Land Trust Alliance bestows awards at annual conference

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, bestowed awards during its recent annual conference.

Honorees recognized at Rally 2018, the nation’s premier gathering for conservation leadership and training, included the Shirley Heinze Land Trust of Valparaiso, Ind., which received a National Land Trust Excellence Award. Its work covers six counties in northwestern Indiana, helps large populations of the underserved and conserves a vast spectrum of biodiversity.

Its board and staff are also continuously evolving the way they engage volunteers and community. Other award recipients were from Connecticut, Montana and New York.

Rinskor active Earns Green Chemistry Challenge Award

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, received a 2018 Green Chemistry Challenge Award for Rinskor active, a rice herbicide that provides a sustainable solution for rice farmers to control grass, broadleaf and sedge weeds.

The American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute’s award, given to companies or institutions that have developed a new process or product that helps protect public health and the environment, is the United States’ most prestigious award program for green chemistry innovations.

Green chemistry focuses on designing chemicals that reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous substances and that reduce pollution at its source. This is the sixth win for the heritage businesses that make up the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont.

Marrone products win Blum Award for novel biocontrol solution

DAVIS, Calif. — Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI) announced the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Assoc. (IBMA) awarded it the 2018 Bernard Blum Award for a Novel Biocontrol Solution at its annual general assembly in Basel, Switzerland.

The award was given for three products – Venerate insecticide, Majestene nematicide and MBI-014 herbicide – which are all based on a new species of non-living bacteria, Burkholderia rinojensis. This species, which was discovered by MBI, produces several natural compounds with notable pesticidal activity, which work together to control a broad range of pests and weeds, while remaining nontoxic and low risk to non-target organisms, such as honeybees.

The Blum award and trophy are dedicated to IBMA’s founding father, who laid the foundation for the group in 1995 after observing an important and growing industry in the field of plant protection.

Carlstar introduces student loan repayment for employees

FRANKLIN, Tenn. — The Carlstar Group announced it has partnered with Gradifi to offer a student loan repayment (SLP) benefit to its U.S. employees beginning November 2018. The Carlstar Group is an industry leader of specialty tires and wheels and employs more than 3,400 associates in 17 facilities located in four countries.

As a large, U.S.-based manufacturer employing thousands of talented team members, the company stated it hopes to lessen the financial burden student loans place on its employees, while at the same time expanding its total benefit offering and enhancing employer/employee connections throughout the business.

Working with Boston-based Gradifi, the leading provider of Employer SLP Plans, The Carlstar Group is joining the ranks of other progressive companies, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, in leading the charge of tackling the nation’s student loan debt crisis, which impacts 70 percent of recent college graduates in the United States.

The company will supplement eligible employees’ regular student loan payments with a monthly contribution through a managed program offered by Gradifi. Each eligible employee can participate in the SLP program for up to five years, with a total benefit of up to $5,100 toward the principal of a student loan.

Consider Corn Challenge seeks to tap potential of crop

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA) announced the launch of the second Consider Corn Challenge contest. The goal of this global competition is to find new and innovative uses of field corn. NineSigma is serving as the facilitator of the competition.

In 2017, America’s corn farmers produced 14.6 billion bushels of corn and are on pace to produce the second-largest crop ever. One of NCGA’s strategic plan goals is to partner with industry to establish three new uses, for a minimum of 75 million incremental bushels by 2020.

Between 3-6 winners will be selected for a total prize pool of $150,000. An informational webinar will be held in January 2019 and submissions are due March 20. The winners will be announced in July.

In 2018, the contest garnered 33 submissions from eight countries. For more information on the contest, go to https://9sig.co/UseCorn